Rasgovindpur Airstrip

The airstrip was closed and abandoned following the end of World War II. It was a temporary military installation built specifically for the war effort. With the cessation of hostilities and the departure of Allied forces (specifically the US Army Air Forces), the base was no longer needed and was handed over to the government of India before falling into disuse.

The airfield is currently in a derelict state. The vast main runway and a network of taxiways are still clearly visible from satellite imagery but are heavily deteriorated, cracked, and overgrown with vegetation. The land is largely unused, though local villagers sometimes use it for grazing cattle, drying goods, or as a thoroughfare. The site has also suffered from neglect and illegal activities, including soil and sand quarrying, which has further damaged the historic structures. The land is under the ownership of the Government of Odisha.

Rasgovindpur Airstrip, known during WWII as Amarda Road Airfield, holds immense historical significance as one of the largest and most important Allied airbases in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater. Constructed in the early 1940s, it served as a forward staging base for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Its primary role was to support long-range heavy bomber operations against Japanese forces in Burma and Thailand. The base was home to various bomber and photo reconnaissance units. Its most notable role was as a base for the B-29 Superfortress bombers of the XX Bomber Command. These aircraft conducted some of the earliest strategic bombing missions against mainland Japan under 'Operation Matterhorn' in 1944. The airfield was massive, featuring a main runway over 11,000 feet (approx. 3.5 km) long, extensive taxiways, and dispersal hardstands, making it one of the few airfields in Asia at the time capable of handling the fully-loaded B-29s.

There are significant and concrete plans for the revival of the Rasgovindpur Airstrip, primarily for defence purposes. While the Odisha state government has periodically proposed developing it into a domestic airport under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme to boost tourism in the Mayurbhanj district, the more advanced plan involves the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The DRDO plans to acquire the airstrip and develop it into a major airbase for its operations. Its strategic proximity to the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur makes it an ideal location for testing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), conducting flight trials of indigenously developed aircraft, and serving as a base for other strategic projects. As of early 2024, the process of transferring the required land from the state government to the DRDO is in its final stages, making its redevelopment as a defence asset the most probable future for the historic site.